Enough is enough when it comes to the Britney Griner story. According to ESPN,
“Brittney has been detained for 75 days and our expectation is that
the White House will do whatever is necessary to bring her home,” The
US says Brittney Griner has been “wrongfully detained”. This means
they will move to negotiate her release & not wait for Russian law to
play out.
The U.S. government said it would “continue to undertake efforts to
provide appropriate support to Ms. Griner,” who was arrested in
mid-February at a Russian airport, where officials claimed that
Griner’s luggage held vape cartridges with oil derived from cannabis,
a charge which can result in up to 10 years in prison in Russia. On
March 18, a Russian court extended her detention to May 19.
She is being held in a pre-trial detention center near Moscow, where
she will stay until her next court appearance.
I have seen more coverage of far less significant stories. Britney
Griner has been held for far too long. This should be front page news
everyday until her release. I cannot help but wonder if she was maybe
a bigger NBA star, or if there were other extenuating circumstances
that I will not mention at this time, if this would garner more media
hype.
We should all be outraged.
The WNBA’s decal will feature Griner’s initials “BG” as well as her
No. 42. All 12 teams will have the decal on their home courts starting
with the season opener Friday night. The Phoenix Mercury, Griners
current team, opened their season at home that night against the Las
Vegas Aces.
